Eyes of the Swan and Heart of the Scorpion (TENTATIVE TITLE)
by crunchychips
Summary: Tori (Hikari) is summoned by the Harvest King to investigate a mysterious tablet that tells of an ominous re-occurring prophecy. In her quest for the truth she finds herself partnering up with the Wizard; Together, they find that far more darker things are at work. (Hikari/MollyxKathy Past, WizardxHikary/Molly Present...?, PheobexWizard Past) SciFi! Adventure! Mystery! Romance!
1. Chapter 1: First Star of Bond

(A/N: Hi everyone! This is my first ever fanfic! I had a pretty interesting story in mind using the Harvest Moon AP Universe. All AP cast will be present, plus new characters! I also may have changed the personalities of some AP characters, so they won't be quite true to their game counterparts. Tori is the name I gave Molly/Hikari in my game file, just so no one gets confused. Please let me know what you think! I am a full time Grad student STEM major, so writing is like...my absolute worst skill. If anyone is interested in being an editor let me know! Please leave reviews and comments I'd like feedback! Enjoy!)

* * *

CHAPTER 1: First Star of Bond

"So..." the Witch said after taking a sip of her tea, "Did you bring me the tablet from the Harvest King?" Tori sighed, remembering the trek she had to go through to obtain the relic.

* * *

A few days ago, amidst her farm chores, a loud crash had echoed through her farmyard. Curious and worried that a barn animal may have gotten hurt, Tori went to find the source of the sound. As she approached the entrance to her home, she saw a disoriented fairy sprawled on the ground.

"Finn!" She exclaimed while slightly laughing, "I thought you were going to be busy helping the Goddess! What are you doing here? Are you okay?"

Finn collected himself and floated up towards Tori's face. "TORI!" Finn yelled frantically, his tone matched his flailing movements. "The Harvest King needs to see you! He says it's absolutely urgent!"

Tori looked around her farmland and scratched the back of her head sheepishly. "Can't it wait? I have a lot to do Finn… the animals need their feed, I need to harvest the rest of the crops and-"

"NO! It has to be NOW NOW NOW NOW! Please Tori!"

Tori sighed and accepted defeat.

"Ugh fine, he better have a damn good reason!" Tori mounted her horse and together they strode towards Flute Fields; Tori explained her situation and asked Renee if she could finish up her tasks for her.

"Of course, Tori, hurry on though! You don't want to keep the King waiting!" Renee gave Tori a small rucksack of goods, to Tori's surprise, and waved goodbye. Her neighbors were always nice people, although some had chaotic family lives. Finn wasn't going to accompany her, as he had to return to the Goddess, and was only relaying the message.

"Ugh, I wonder what's so important that it needs to be now." she groaned, "That arrogant man needs to learn that not everyone runs on his schedule!"

She was so distracted by her internal venting that she didn't even notice she was already at the entrance to the mines. She got off her horse and pondered for a bit.

"Hmm, I'm actually not sure how long this will take, it's not good to leave you out here long, Arcturus..." Her horse neighed in reply.

"Oh wait, maybe I can ask Owen! he's probably here right now!" Tori exclaimed. Arcturus seemed to give a dismissive response.

"Oh, he can just walk you, I know you're particular about who rides you."

Tori entered the mines, but saw no sign of Owen. She did however, find Luke. She frowned instantly.

"Heya Hothead! Where ya headed?" He asked. Tori rolled her eyes. "I need to speak to the Harvest King, but I need someone to take Arcturus home."

"Well I got nothin' better to do, how's about I take her?" Luke offered. Luke teased Tori often and always slacked off at work; she wasn't sure this was such a good idea. But she was in a rush, and didn't have another option.

"Sure. Here's my barn keys. Please don't make a mess of things, okay?"

"Haha gotcha! I won't let you down!" He snatched the keys excitedly and ran outside towards Arcturus. Tori could hear Arcturus buck in anger outside and Luke try to calm her. She took a deep breath, then entered the Upper Garmon Mines Entrance.

Each floor she trekked became colder and colder. "Even in the warm spring breeze this cave is still icy as ever" she scoffed. She beat herself up a little for letting Finn rush her, maybe she would have remembered to bring a jacket.

Tori made a pit stop on the 25th floor to recover some energy. The year or so of experience she's had with these caves did nothing for her endurance in them. She felt like she was going to pass out at any moment.

"That's right, Renee gave me a bag of stuff earlier, didn't she?" She pulled it out and inspected its contents.

"Oh Renee, this must have been your lunch…" Tori's voice echoed through the caves. The bag contained a bottle of water and a container of vegetable stew. Now that Marimba Farm was able to grow amazing crops, they started exploring the ways they could cook them, with help from Chase and Maya, the town's celebrated cooks (However, Yolanda was the true artesian of the craft). Tori savored each spoonful of stew until she hit the bottom of the container. The warmth helped her cope with the freezing temperatures within the cave, and gave her the energy to venture forth the other 20 floors. After about a few hours, Tori finally arrived to the 45th floor, excited because she remembered about the hot springs in the area.

"Yes yes, when I get there I'm going to the spring right away! That jerk can wait a bit I'm sure!" she said as she wiped cold sweat off of her forehead. Once she was at the exposed mountaintop, she darted towards the springs.

"I know you're here, Tori. We have business. That can wait." The King's voice boomed.

She barely managed to get her hands in the water by the time he said that. She bit her tongue though, and kept her mouth shut as she walked towards his throne area on the other side of the mountaintop.

"Alright, what's so important it had to be dealt with right now?" she asked in a rude tone.

The King laughed, "You humans don't understand manners! You are all so caught up in your frivolous lives-"

"Yeah, okay, get to the point I thought we didn't have all day," she said as she rolled her eyes.

"And yet you took almost the entire day getting here, didn't that fairy tell you it was urgent?!" The King matched her tone.

"I can only get here so fast, maybe next time COME DOWN INSTEAD?" She said mockingly.

Her emotions were getting the better of her, and all she wanted to do now was punch him in the face.

"It does not matter, I suppose" he said, bringing down his tone, "Let me show you…"

With a bright glow, the King willed a strange tablet to appear before the both of them. For a while, there was silence as they both studied the tablet. Finally, no longer able to contain her curiosity, Tori spoke.

"So... what is it then? Other than a cryptic rock?" The King glared at her and replied.

"It is just that. It speaks of a prophecy. I don't exactly know much other than that. The Witch in the forest might be able to help you with that, though."

"You rushed me here over something you don't kn-Wait what do you mean? Why do I have to do this?" Tori answered in shock.

"I rushed you over because it's an ominous prophecy. That much I know." The King asserted.

"It speaks of destruction; the etched drawings also seem to suggest that as well." He stated, staring off into the distance.

"I want you to figure it out, and find a way to prevent this prophecy." Tori crossed her arms.

"I do not like humans, you know that. But I trust you, Tori. If the Goddess put her faith in you to restore the elements, then I believe I can do the same." His plea seemed very unorthodox of his character. He always had an air of superiority about him, but at this moment he seemed to be level with Tori. It almost seemed as though he was afraid...

"Okay. I'll take it to the Witch. Are you sure she can figure this out?" Tori asked.

"She and the Wizard are skilled in a variety of archaic languages and hieroglyphics" the King explained, "However, she seems to be more communicative and answered my call before the Wizard did. So, she is expecting you."

"Alrigh-...aaaah she's all the way in the freakin' forest! AUGH!" Tori cried in frustration.

The King simply rolled his eyes. "Humans..."

* * *

"Tori, the tablet, do you have it or not?" The witch repeated. She snapped her fingers in front of the reminiscing Tori to bring her back to the present.

"Uh? Oh! Yeah, it's in my bag, let me grab it." Tori rummaged through her bag. She pulled out the slab of rock, realizing she never bothered to notice the engraved pictures on it. It seemed like some kind of beast with some strange markings attacking a vague stretch of land and its people. That's all she managed to understand from a glance, though. She took a few sips of her tea as well, and she watched the Witch study the tablet closely.

and she watched.

and she watched.

Tori began tapping her feet loudly as her patience began dwindling. She could feel her anxiousness begin to get the better of her. She was never a patient person.

"You know, the few times you've come over, you always do that, and it's distracting!" the Witch commented.

Over the course of the year, once Tori restored the Witch to her true form, they both became good friends. However, they did not see each other often. Tori was always busy with fieldwork, and the Witch must've had some business to attend to. Tori knew the Witch had some kind of knack for languages, but she never knew to what extent.

"Well, maybe if you hurried it up..." Tori said in a low growl.

The witch sighed. "This language is from my mother's era. I know bits and pieces, but not the whole story." she said as she bit her lip. Suddenly, her eyes lit up.

"SYLVIA!" the witch called. Tori looked curiously at the upstairs door the witch was facing. A bit passed, and the knob began to turn. Out from the door emerged a beautiful woman in loose, long raven hair and tired red eyes. She only had her bra and underwear on, and she looked like she'd been sleeping.

"Babe, it's 3AM, what's going on?" the woman said, yawning and stretching a bit as she waited for a reply.

"I know love but we have an important guest, just come down!" she yelled towards her.

"Okay, okay" the woman said as she made her way hovering down the staircase.

"That's my partner, Sylvia. Succubi were very prominent in this era so she probably understands this better than I can." the witch explained.

Tori nodded until she realized, "Wait did you say-"

"Yes, I'm a succubus, does that bother you human? Why are you here so late anyways?" Sylvia retorted.

"She brought an important tablet for us to decipher love, but I can't seem to understand this writing. I'm trying to understand the drawings as well…"

The woman began hovering over towards them, and took over the tablet. From there, Tori thought, her features were clear. She had pointy ears, and a tail. Her crimson eyes stood out against her dark, spotty complexion and for a moment Tori blushed and looked away. She distracted herself by taking gulps of tea, until she realized she was drinking air.

"So…how long have you guys been an item?" Tori asked sheepishly as she stared down her empty cup.

"We met about a week after you came last, so, probably a few months, I think," The Witch replied, "Isn't she great?"

The succubus was still examining the stone tablet, until something caught her eye.

"That there" the succubus pointed to the beast-like drawing on the relic. "It looks like the Wizard's markings. And it's on the same eye." the succubus continued, "The words scribbled next to it also say 'Mage' in Ulduni."

The Witch's faced turned into a scowl as she digested her lover's words. "I knew there was a reason I never liked that weirdo!" she yelled. She collected herself though, and continued to process the meaning of the succubus's words as she refilled her and Tori's tea.

Tori only sat there, confused.

"Ulduni, Eh? That's the oldest language in existence. Most magical beings used to speak the language. However now, only the succubi pass down its remnants." The Witch remarked.

"I don't really understand much, it's all complicated garble, nothing I've learned before." Sylvia said, "But some of these pictures look like beings we know of now. Like this right here kind of looks like the Goddess...more like an artist rendering don'tcha think?"

Sylvia laughed as she looked at some of the drawings. But what she said was right, the woman in the drawing (if it can even be recognized as such) kind of looked like the Goddess, even these weird indented circles look like they could be floating fairies...

The Witch and Sylvia continued discussing the contents of the tablet. Tori sat and thought about their comparison of the beast and the Wizard. She recalled the many times she'd seen the Wizard, but he would either scoff or look the other way. The townsfolk said the Wizard mostly kept to himself, and out of all the townspeople he was the only one she hadn't befriended. She tried for a while, but friendship is a two-way endeavor after all. Could he really be the beast in this photo? The last Tori spoke with the Wizard, she didn't recall such insignias on his face.

"Tori, I think we came to a conclusion of what this means!" The Witch said brightly. Light began shining through the Witch's windows, and the sounds of chirping birds became prominent. It was daybreak. Tori was slouched on the Witch's chair, sleeping like a baby.

"Tori, silly! wake up!" the Witch said as she shook the sleeping girl.

"Eh-Ah! What what!" Tori yelled, breaking from her small nap. She wiped some drool off her face.

"Ah, she's a sleeping beauty, just like you babe!" Sylvia laughed.

"Oh shut it!" the Witch replied.

Tori tried to remember what had been happening the past day or so as they continued their loving exchanges.

"Anyways, Tori, we think we figured it out" the Witch stated excitingly.

"Oh?" Tori said, partly curious and partly sleepy. She could really go for some coffee.

"Yes, well, it seems to tell of a cyclic prophecy. A demon will come and ravage the lands, and destroy the Goddess and her elements, or fairies as we know them." The Witch explained, "I don't know when this will occur, or how much time we have left, but Spring is always seen as the season of rebirth. So probably a year, minimum."

"The beast is the Wizard. They have identical features. He's a demon, according to the relic." Sylvia interrupted, "It seems like he's key in this."

"Ugh I hate that rotten brat, he's always so stoic, drawl, and serious. A demon living amongst humans? Crazy!" the Witch said as entered the kitchen.

Sylvia stayed sitting with Tori at the table. "From what I know, he's really into stars. One of my succubi friends tried to go, well, y'know, steal his seed, but he doesn't seem very in tune with his male instincts," Sylvia laughed a bit while Tori gave her a disgusted look, "He kicked her out and now has some magic barrier up." Sylvia said, tracing a circle on the table with her finger.

"Hah, or maybe he's gay!" the witch retorted from the kitchen.

"Ah, you'd know that quiet well, wouldn't you?" Sylvia smirked.

The Witch gave her a loving stare back, then sighed.

"I don't know how we would stop this. The Wizard tends to keep to himself too." She said as she joined everybody else at the table. She had brought some muffins from the kitchen.

Tori stared at the beast in question. "Last time I saw him, when I asked him to help me fix you, I didn't see these sigils on his face."

Sylvia took a muffin from the center of the table. "I see him around sometimes in this forest. There's something wrong with that eye. He covers it." She stared back at the tablet. "But I've seen it. If he hides it, it's probably because of this." She shrugged.

"I don't know either, I'm not really friends with him or anything. I don't know anything about that man." Tori sighed.

"Say..." Sylvia pondered, "Maybe we can control him? Isn't he like you, babe? Wizards and Witches can't give out their real names."

Tori stared. "That's true, I don't know your name Witch. What is it?"

"It's said that if a Witch or Wizard revealed their true name to someone, that person can control them," the Witch said matter-a-factly. Tori frowned, hoping that she could call her friend something other than simply "Witch".

"But, if we did know his name, we would theoretically be able to stop him, by controlling him, wouldn't we?" The witch gave a sly smile as she concocted the plan in her head.

"This doesn't even seem well thought out. We don't even know who or what the Wizard is or what power he has. We're taking the word of a rock here." Tori stated as she took a bite from one of the muffins.

"Ah! That's your job Tori!" the Witch said.

Tori stopped mid-chew. "Mmbeg chur parchen?"

"Yeah, babe and the Wizard don't get along too good. And he's yet to know you. It's perfect!" Sylvia exclaimed.

"Woah, wait hold up, don't make plans for me! I don't really understand what's going on!" Tori urged, she practically spit muffin crumbs out of her mouth.

"Please Tori, manners!" the Witch exclaimed in disgust. "At this rate, I'm never sharing my snacks with you ever again!"

Tori angrily finished chewing her muffin piece and swallowed. "Okay. NOW EXPLAIN!" she growled.

Sylvia laughed at the disoriented human and took another look at the relic as her lover explained the plan to Tori.

"You're going to befriend the Wizard, and eventually, by getting to know him and either by finding clues leading to it, or by earning his trust, he'll tell you his name. You should also try to find any more clues on this prophecy. I'll do the same."

"I already tried step one. He doesn't want to be friends." Tori said dismally.

"I know for a fact he likes these! Maybe go by his place and ask for your fortune read and offer this?" the Witch said while she rummaged through her black bag. She pulled out some weird purple mushroom. Tori recalled seeing a few on the way to the Witch's house several months back, but avoided them because they seemed poisonous.

"This looks like I want to poison him? No?" Tori stated while she had the uninviting mushroom in her hand.

"What? No, no, Tori. It's a Fugue mushroom. It's useful in magic and such. He's quite fond of them, last I remember." the Witch stated.

"Ah, I sometimes see him around the forest picking these." stated Sylvia.

"Ugh but what if this goes wrong? What if I can't do this? What if-" Tori was cut off by the Witch who pulled something else out of her bag.

It was a bracelet filled with pink crystals. Tori's face lit up with curiosity; she'd never seen crystals with that hue before. The witch clasped the bracelet around Tori's wrist.

"Uh, what's this? It's really pretty..." Tori asked, completely enchanted.

"It's a crystal bracelet infused with my magic. You can use it like a communicator of sorts. If you need me, just will it and the bracelet will call for me. It's easier than you coming here anytime you have a question or problem, I know you're busy with farm stuff."

The Witch pointed to her own wrist, and Sylvia's. "We have our own too."

Tori bit her lip. Once again, the weight of the world was on her shoulders. They wanted her to befriend some beast disguised as a Wizard. Sylvia sensed the doubt Tori was emitting.

"If you are the human the Witch speaks of, the one who rang the bells of legend to restore the elements, then you should have no trouble doing this." Sylvia said in a serious tone. "By the way, I'm sorry for being rude earlier," She continued, "Don't worry, you have us here to help you. We won't leave you stranded in this."

The succubus's words were oddly reassuring. Tori could feel the fear picking up, but this had to be done. Who knows how much time was left before the prophecy came true.

"Like I mentioned before, I think we have until next Spring," the Witch said thoughtfully, "Magical items tend to appear when they are needed." She pointed to the magical item in question, the relic itself.

Tori gathered her things, as well as the mushroom the Witch gave her.

"I should be heading out then, thanks for your help guys," Tori said as she walked out the door, "Sleep well!"

"Sylvia... I have a bad feeling about all this. Something doesn't seem right..." The Witch said after locking the door. Sylvia stared at the window, watching Tori walk into the distance.

"I feel the same." she replied. "I'll see if I know anyone else who speaks Ulduni."

* * *

Tori paced towards her home, excited to finally reunite with her bed. In the distance, she was able to see her farmland.

Suddenly, it hit her.

"Shit! My crops! My animals! How long has it been?" Tori yelled, to no one in particular. Judging by the sunlight, it seemed to be about 10. That meant she was gone for about a day. There was so much to do, yet all she actually wanted to do was sleep. And she couldn't even do that after her chores. She had a new assignment. She sighed as she approached her entrance. She reached for her keys, and realized that they were not in her pocket. She grabbed the door knob though, and it opened, to her surprise. Even more of a surprise was Luke, who was asleep on her chair. She approached him as he snored away and proceeded to shake the life out of him.

"Aah!" he yelped.

"Oi, it's just you Tori" Luke yawned, "Dang girl, long night?" he noticed the bags under her eyes.

"Guess so." She sighed, "Thanks for taking care of the place."

Luke jolted up and stared at her alarm clock "Aw shit—Pops is gunna kill me! I'm late! See ya!" He ran out of her house. She tried chasing him down at first.

"Wait! My keys!"

She groaned and figured she'd ask for them back later. No one in this town kept locks, anyways. Tori only chose to as a way to keep her animals inside; The chickens managed to learn to open their coop doors.

She began her arduous daily tasks: watering her crops, tending to her animals, shipping out any goods, and cleaning up around the area. To her surprise, she seemed to have a lot of free time after farm chores; it was only 15:00. She was still nervous about going to meet the Wizard, especially with all the information she was given. _He could be a monster._

"Maybe I should ask around town first…" she spoke to herself.

"Yeah, that's a good idea!" She yelled.

"What's a good idea, Tori?" Renee asked as she turned her head confused. Tori didn't even notice Renee had walked over towards her house.

"Ah, nothing, I guess I'm speaking to myself again, just planning crop stuff out." Renee smiled. "Hey, I also wanted to thank you for your lunch the other day, it was sooo good~" Tori said as she rubbed her tummy. She didn't realize she still had some dirt on her hands from the yardwork.

"Tori your shirt!" Renee laughed a bit and tried to remove the stain with her hankerchief.

"Ohh its fine, I'll wash later anyways." Tori said, grinning.

"I see. You're very welcome as well, I'm glad I was able to help you out. I hope everything worked out with the Harvest King." Renee said.

"Yeah, he just wanted me to keep an eye on things, never good to let your guard down, even if the tree is restored, y'know?" Tori crossed her arms behind her head. "I hope that wasn't your lunch I ate, you work about as hard as I do!" Tori recalled all the times she had seen Renee tending to the animals at the Horn Ranch.

"It was only leftovers, Tori," Renee began walking towards town, and waved, "I was just passing by and wanted to see how you were doing. I have some errands to run, have a good day!"

Tori waved back. Conversations with Renee always put Tori in a good mood. She was determined now to befriend the Wizard. Maybe they could also have lively conversations like she has with Renee. She grabbed her bag and made her way to town, to investigate what people already knew about him.

* * *

[Past: Spring]

Tori stopped in front of the door and grabbed at her knees, gasping, trying to catch her breath. "Knock Tori! Knock!" Finn said in a panic.

"Hold on, I need to breathe, I'm, …hah, I need water…"

The door opened and a figure appeared before them. The purple figure removed his hoodie, and revealed his face to the out of breath Tori.

"…Yes…?" The fortune teller spoke. He looked down and saw the redhead panting.

Like her, he was also tanner than most of the folk in town. His messy hair was a nice platinum grey; it reminded her of moonlight. His teal eye was beaming at her in curiosity. His other eye was covered by his bed head and small braid. His entirety smelled like coffee beans; For a second, Tori seemed lost in his presence. She had forgotten she ran all the way over from Fugue Forest.

"I…heard you at my door…," The fortune teller said, breaking the silence, "Do you have business with me…?"

His soft-spoken voice jolted Tori back to reality, she was gasping again. The wizard stared at her fairy companion.

"We, need, your help!" She said between gasps.

"We…," The fortune teller replied, "The sprite…as well…?"

"Ah! He can see me!" Finn hid inside Tori's sweaty hair.

"Yes…I can see all beings of magical origin…like me…" the fortune teller responded.

Tori finally caught her breath and cocked her head. "What? People here told me you're just some 'eccentric' fortune teller. You're magic?" she asked skeptically.

"I'm a Wizard…humans don't seem to understand…"

Tori waved him off, figuring she'd deal with this topic at another time. "I came here because the Witch has some curse on her. She's a frog. Finn said you can help. I guess if you're magic it makes sense."

The Wizard held a hand over his mouth, but that wasn't enough to stop his laughing fit. Tori frowned.

"Hey, c'mon stop, I need that green bell from her. It'll fix the Goddess tree or whatever."

The cloaked man adjusted himself, and opened the door wider, reluctantly inviting her inside. She furrowed her brows at him and entered his house. If he hadn't told her he was some kind of mage, she would have figured it out then. His entire house was magic-themed in some form or another.

"She's….an idiot," the Wizard said bluntly, "I told her…not to do it…" He picked up a large book from the center table, and flipped to a specific page.

"She thought…she could use a spell…to restore that tree…" He approached Tori and gave her a peek at the page.

"It says here…to reverse the spell's effect…you need Good Cornmeal, ...Hibiscus, …and Perfect Butter." Tori was wide-eyed.

"You're helping me though, right? Some of this, I mean, the cornmeal alone is a summer thing- "

"No. Be off now…" He said as he pushed them both out the door. Once again, the duo found themselves outside.

"Wow! He seems rude, doesn't he?" Finn said as he fluttered about.

"Are you kidding?! He's an asshole! This will take forever!" Tori yelled outside his door.

"You hear me you freak! YOU'RE A DICK!" she kicked his door, leaving a noticeable dent. With that, Tori ran off, mentally planning how she was going to pull this off in a timely fashion.

* * *

[Present: Spring]

"Wizard? Oh, the fortune teller—well you know, he's…eccentric…"

"Him? Isn't he some shut-in?"

"Now that you mention him, I never see him go out…"

"Actually, he likes to watch the stars from the church grounds. I saw him there while visiting the gravesite…"

The townspeople's words echoed in Tori's mind. She shielded her eyes from the mid-afternoon sun while resting under some trees in the Garmon Mines area. She felt like at this point she was just stalling the inevitable; nothing anyone told her was particularly useful, or something she didn't already know before. The bear cub nearby had approached her and looked at her longingly. She smiled and scratched its head lovingly as its mother watched from the entrance of the spring.

"Oh! I wonder if the Goddess' knows anything about this." Tori said. The cub let out a loving growl. "Guess it's settled then," she got up and the cub playfully ran back to its mother, "Time to go see her." She made her way to the entrance.

She walked carefully across the ruins, making sure she didn't slip and fall into the water (like she had before). She stared in awe at the beauty of the tree ahead. Around this time, last year, it was at its final hour. Now, it was massive, and blooming beautiful blue flowers. Colored specs began to approach her and surround her.

"Tori!" the fairies called out to her. "Yay! You came to visit!"

Finn shot out from behind the lot, and gave Tori's face a hug. "Tori! I miss you so much!" Tori giggled and pulled in the surrounding fairies for a big hug. "It's been a while! How are all my little pipsqueaks!"

"We're still bigger than Finn!" Collin smirked.

"Hey! So what! Tori says I am tiny but mighty!" Finn retorted as the rest of the sprites laughed amongst themselves.

"Now, now, what have I told you all about picking on each other?" A voice spoke. It sounded like waves against the shore; powerful, yet calming.

The sprites made way for the Harvest Goddess and swarmed her playfully. She laughed a bit, and looked at Tori.

"Hello, Tori, what brings you here today? A visit?" She gave Tori a loving smile, one she imagined a mother would give their child.

"Not particularly, I wanted to ask about someone, about the Wizard." Finn grew curious, he wondered if this had something to do with what the King had told him.

The air in the springs began to change, something felt off. The Goddess was still smiling at her, but it no longer felt motherly, just distant.

"Boys, can Tori and I have some room to talk?"

"Aw, can't we hang around a little longer?" Alan pouted. The Goddess held him close.

"Another time, okay? This is important." The sprites sighed and pouted, but with that, disappeared. Tori did not like where this was headed. Why did she need to send the sprites away?

Suddenly, the warm aura surrounding the Goddess felt cold as ice. Her smile twisted into a stern expression.

"Tori, dear, why do you ask about…him."

"Well, I don't know if the King already told you-"

"The tablet. Yes. He did. What of it?" The Goddess crossed her arms. Tori was so taken aback, she had never seen this sort of demeanor from her before. She was always loving towards all beings. Or so Tori thought.

"The Witch believes the Wizard might be the beast engraved on the relic. Prophesized to bring destruction to the lands, yadda, yadda…"

"I see. Do you believe this to be true?"

Tori scratched her head. "Well, the resemblance….is there. But, I don't know."

The Goddess closed her eyes and appeared to be deep in thought.

"Stay away from that man, Tori. His reputation…precedes him. He's nothing more than an unwanted soul. Taking up unwanted space."

Tori was somewhat appalled by what the Goddess had just said. Furthermore, she was confused about his 'reputation'. All she had heard was that she was some weird shut-in.

"I'm not surprised, really. He's a cold-hearted Sorcerer. Perhaps, all his years as a recluse has given him time to become even more powerful... _"_

"If it were up to me, he would cease to exist." She remarked coldly. Tori looked away, onto some blue petals in the water.

"Ah.., well, I just wanted to know if you knew anything about him. The Witch and I decided I should befriend him, get his name, and control him, and stop him, if he is the beast." Tori poorly explained. She was a little intimidated with the comments the Goddess was making.

"Tori, you have such a big heart," for a moment, it seemed like she returned to her original persona, "Don't waste it on some trash in the wind."

Tori, hesitantly, bowed. "I see. Thanks for your insight Goddess."

"Oh, child, there is no need to bow to me." She pulled Tori up and gave her the same smile she had before. It's as if the previous interaction was simply a dream. The tranquility returned to the area.

"Take care of yourself, Tori." The Goddess' cupped Tori's face with her hand and rubbed her cheek. "You are in my thoughts, always. Don't let the darkness taint you." Tori nodded.

"That's all I wanted to ask. Thanks." Tori wanted to leave as soon as she could. She tried her best to hide her discomfort.

"Until next time, Tori." Tori gave a half-hearted smile and headed off.

The Goddess' stood there, digesting what Tori had told her. She seemed panicked and began backing away until she bumped into the tree. She fell to her knees and grabbed her head, trembling. The paranoia enveloped her entirely.

"I'm next aren't I? He's-he's coming for me. Just like her…"

* * *

It had been two days since the Witch and Sylvia had asked her to befriend the Wizard. She was confused, anxious, and nervous. The past few days did anything but make her feel more confident. She adjusted her tank top as she sat idly on her shipping box. She'd finished the day's work, and found herself in a mental struggle of whether or not to go on and confront the Wizard. She anxiously twiddled her thumbs. She shook her head and bit her lip, then ran off towards the town. It was now or never.

She adjusted herself and sighed, attempting to prep herself for what was to come. "Ouhkay girl, you got this". She stared at the bracelet on her wrist, "Wish me luck, Witch". She approached the Wizard's doorstep and saw the old dent mark she left on it. She ignored it and knocked.

A bit of time passed and no one answered.

Tori gritted her teeth, slightly annoyed that this was already going poorly. This time, she put more force into the knock. The door creaked open a little bit.

"...Do you have business with me?" The voice said. "Uh, hehe, yeah actually I-"

"I have...important priorities to attend to. leave." The voice replied, taking her by surprise. This time she really couldn't keep her anger in check. Just as the voice was about to close the door, she shoved her foot into the opening and leaned on the doorway.

"Look pal, I really need my fortune read. Please? I'll give you this in return." Tori said as she pulled out the mushroom from her bag. "Ehh? How about it?"

With that, the door opened all the way. In the entranceway, a man several inches taller than her stared her down with his lifeless teal eye; the other one seemed covered by his messy grey locks. He was wearing a purple coat with strange insignias. His brown skin reflected off the midday sun. Even though Tori had spoken with him before, she found herself yet again lost in his presence. He grabbed the mushroom from her hands and was inspecting it in the sunlight. Once satisfied with his inspection, he spoke.

"This...better be urgent." The wizard said. He stood aside and allowed her to enter his house. Tori glared at him in response to his comment, then made her way inside. It was the same as it was the last time she was here; magic-themed decor and some eccentric items here and there, most notably the large telescope. The center of the room had a large table, and many books were sprawled about. His crystal ball was atop one of the books. "Have a seat over there.." He said, pointing to the messy table. He walked over to his (messy) kitchen, and grabbed a mug. As messy as his place seemed, it smelled like coffee beans and felt homey. She noticed he was making some coffee from an old coffee machine, and took the opportunity to make conversation.

"You like coffee huh? It practically smells like a college freshmen dorm in here, and looks like one too!" Tori said, chuckling at herself.

"A...what?" Judging by the tone, he seemed both confused and offended.

"Ah, nevermind." Tori said, rubbing her head sheepishly. "Just another memory of my old life." No one in Harmonica Town really knew what college was except for a few people.

He made his way his divination table and sat down, still inspecting the mushroom in his hand.

"So..." he began, "Where...did you get this?"

"Fugue Forest I believe!" she said ecstatically; it was a miracle they were having some sort of conversation. He pinched his nose, and sighed in frustration.

"I ...know it's a fugue mushroom," he continued, "What I mean is...where in the forest?"

Tori didn't really catch that too well, she was too pent up by the frustrated sigh he let out a few seconds ago.

 _Who does he think he is acting this way towards me? Sure I may have barged in a little but his attitude is really getting on my nerves I-_

"Well...?" The wizard pushed on. Tori snapped back into reality and realized she didn't really know the specifics. She didn't think it was important to ask the Witch that. She tried to think of a good excuse.

"It's interesting," he began again before letting Tori answer, "I haven't seen these in the forest...for such a long time..."

 _Could he find out I'm lying? Maybe I'm being too paranoid?_ _  
_  
"It was a lone one I saw 20 minutes into the forest. I just figured it was rare. The townsfolk tell me you like rare things." She answered, hoping it was a good enough reply.

He raised his eyebrows, and looked away, "Tch, those humans know nothing of me...all they do is gossip..."

 _Well, he has a point_ , Tori thought. This town is so small that any little piece of information spreads like a wildfire.

 _Ah, when people found out me and Kathy broke it off..._ She shrugged at her own thoughts.

The Wizard noticed Tori was deep in her own thoughts.

"Let's begin then..."

"Oh, do I need to do anything?" Tori asked.

"Yes..." The wizard replied," something very important..."

"Oh? What is it!" Tori's curiosity got the better of her once again and she was drawn in, leaning towards his side of the table, completely immersed.

"Be quiet."

Tori sat back down, grinding her teeth in an attempt to calm herself down. For a long time, the Wizard sat there in what look like an attempt to channel the crystal orb. Tori tapped her legs anxiously. Force of habit; she hated waiting around. This wasn't even about the fortune; to her it was about establishing a friendship to find out more about him.

 _Oh shoot, what excuse do I use to come back tomorrow? Ugh..._ _  
_  
"Interesting..." The wizard said. He sounded annoyed.

"Yeah? What did you see?" She asked.

"Nothing..."

"What do you mean nothing?" Tori asked, confused.

"I can't… see anything" he continued, "I can't see your future."

He scratched his head, clearly bothered by his failure.

"Mmmmm, so what happens now?" Tori asked curiously.

"This... has never happened before" The wizard said, "there could be...many reasons for this."

"Which one fits this situation?" She continued asking, "Am I going to die or something?"

She tried to be a little humorous with the last part, but wasn't sure if the intention got through to him.

"No, I would know. I would see." He said in a daze. He began to mumble to himself, perhaps trying to find an explanation for this. Tori noticed his sharp molars peek through. _A demon, huh_ , she thought.

"Hey," she said loudly, trying to catch the Wizard's attention. He turned to look at her, noticeably bothered.

"Thanks for helping me a while back with the green bell. I really couldn't have done that without you. Even though, y'know, you kind of left me doing some of it solo..." Tori figured if she said more (somewhat) friendly comments it would convince him to pursue a friendship.

"Wait...do you even know my name?" she asked curiously. The Wizard gave her a glare.

"Why are you asking...such irrelevant questions? I'm trying to figure out what-"

"So that's a no." Tori said frowning. She had made so many attempts to befriend the Wizard, even worked alongside him to help heal the land; she'd thought he would know her name at the very least. He rolled his eyes.

"...Names...are something humans should take more seriously..." The Wizard said, as he scribbled up some notes. The wizard ignored her and left the divination table, making his way upstairs. He rummaged through some drawers before speaking again.

"Look, Victoria..." The wizard started. Tori was mildly surprised.

"It's Tori." she said stoically. The Wizard didn't correct himself, "I remember well…the name of the person who thoughtlessly dented my door…"

Tori turned red and looked down at her feet. At the time, it felt right, as he had left her and Finn to pick up all the pieces themselves. Looking back though, especially after the turn of events, it was a poor idea.

"Anyways…," The Wizard continued, "I can… try using my tarot deck. A little more limited in what I can tell you...but works, nonetheless."

Tori thought about the many times she'd seen people try those back in her previous life. She always thought they were silly, but after the things she's seen the past year, she was willing to give them another chance.

"Alright." She answered.

Tori's restlessness grew as she waited for the Wizard to set up the tarot cards on the divination table. She began to bite her nails. The Wizard raised an eyebrow as he positioned the cards.

"...That's filthy, Tori…don't leave your nail bits...all over my rug."

"Oh, sorry I wasn't even aware I was-...I guess I'm just anxious." she apologized.

"Yes...your constant foot tapping has gotten the better of my patience..." The Wizard added. She wasn't even aware she had been doing that the entire time.

He snapped his fingers and Tori felt her leg go numb. The involuntary tapping seemed to stop altogether.

"How did you-"

"Let's begin." he interrupted. The cards laid upside down in various position. _Perhaps some special set up for a specific fortune reading_ , she thought. The little moon and star designs on the back of the cards complemented the rest of the house decor. _Cliche_.

"This card here...," he pointed, "tells of your current issues… known and unbeknownst to you...turn it over..."

Tori followed his directions and flipped the card. Both hovered over it and stared for a while.

"It's blank?" She finally said, confused.

"Strange...and irritating..." He looked back at the cards still in his deck. They all still had arcana on the respective side of the card.

"Flip the rest..."

One by one, she flipped each card with the same result, blank. The wizard let out a sigh.

"I don't know why this is happening..." he paused as he gave Tori a look of disappointment, "It seems I can't be of help..."

Tori felt kinda bad. The townsfolk constantly bragged about the Wizard's abilities to see fortunes and read hearts. It must be rough to have an off day with your most praised ability.

"Ah, it's okay I-"

"So...our business here is over." he interrupted.

He walked over to his entrance and opened the door. Tori wanted to fight back, but she accepted that this interaction wouldn't press further. She got up and made her way to leave.

"Here is your mushroom back…" The wizard presented it back to her. She waved his hand off. "You keep it. I don't need it anyways. It's yours, enjoy and whatever. Thanks for trying to read my fortune." Tori said as she walked out.

The wizard stared at the mushroom as he closed his door. "How could...a human have found something like this..."

* * *

"Didn't go well huh? I didn't expect it to, at least not this first interaction." The Witch said, attempting to console Tori.

"This isn't my first time speaking with him. We helped you return to your normal self, remember?" The Witch made a face, recalling how the Wizard purposefully asked Tori to obtain the ingredients by herself to restore the Witch, in hopes that her time imprisoned as a frog would teach her a lesson.

"Did you at least learn anything new? Maybe something important for future reference?"

"Uhhh... he really likes coffee. It smells like a coffee shop in his house." the Witch laughed and rolled her eyes.

"I mean useful information, Tori!"

Tori struggled to remember anything else. Really, she just wanted to forget the entire interaction. It was strange and awkward for both of them. Her, re-visiting her anxious ticks, and him not being able to...

"Oh! He couldn't even read my fortune." She said thoughtfully.

"What? why? that's like, his whole deal?" The Witch asked quizzically.

"I don't know. His orb showed nothing. He said he couldn't see anything, and he even tried some tarot cards. they suddenly went blank, though."

The witch raised an eyebrow "That's...weird, but, I guess I don't know enough about fortune telling to understand how it works." the Witch shrugged.

Tori sighed. The witch tried to give Tori a reassuring smile, while behind her the succubus was enjoying some tea.

"Find some common ground. You know, nerd out over stuff together." Sylvia said between sips. The witch cocked her head and sheepishly smiled.

"Yeah, that's a good plan for now… Sorry Tori, I'm not some kind of friendship expert." she said, "That's your department. that's why we wanted you to try. It's a lot to ask for, but it's necessary."

"Men like him just need some time. They enjoy their walls. Just takes some time figuring out whether they're made of sand, or stone." Sylvia remarked.

"Yes, Sylvia is after all, the resident expert on relationships," she blushed and she continued, "Especially the romantic ones…"

Sylvia blushed. "Don't embarrass me in front on Tori!"

"Don't worry Tori, you got this, give us updates okay! See you!" The witch laughed and the lovers continued bickering. The communication ended there.

Tori grasped at her bracelet and smiled. "I miss being with someone like that..." She began reminiscing about her relationship with Kat. However, it left her a bitter taste in her mouth. She decided to brush her teeth in hopes to rid of the taste, and get ready for bed.

* * *

It had been several days since she last saw the Wizard. She constantly kept his image on her mind, and compared it to the beast on tablet. She recalled what the Goddess said to her the other day.

 _"I'm surprised, really. He's a cold-hearted Sorcerer. Perhaps, all his_ _years as a hermit has given him time to become more powerful..."_

Her farm duties and chores took longer than usual today; it was about twenty-three hundred hours when she was done with absolutely everything. Her thoughts still felt clouded. She decided to go for a walk into town, hoping to ease her troubled mind. Maybe she'd even stop for a drink at the bar. She got chills at the thought; Kathy still worked there. The town streets were empty and quiet, with only the howling winds as ambience. The street lamps were dimly lit, and only the bar has their OPEN sign glowing brightly across the door. She continued towards the church grounds, hoping to sit at one of the benches and take in last of the Spring breeze. As she made her way up the final steps, she noticed a figure in the distance. She frowned. She wanted to be alone; she figured it must be the accessory shop owner dealing with her grief at the loss of her husband. She's been in much better spirits, but the pastor mentioned that she often visits in the quiet of the night.

As she got closer though, she recognized the purple robe and grey locks. _A coincidence_ , she thought, _a very bad one at that_. The very figure clouding her mind stood right before her, staring into the vast infinite of the sky. He seemed to completely ignore her presence. She decided to stay back a bit and keep her distance.

"Didn't mean to intrude. Just wanted some alone time" she stated, "I didn't expect anyone else to be out here this late."

He hadn't even asked, but she didn't want him to think she was following him. He turned his attention to her briefly, then looked back up at the sky.

"It's a clear night..." he spoke softly, "the constellations are beaming tonight..."

Tori smiled "Today's the last day were going to see Aries, right? Tomorrow's the first day of Summer."

He quickly broke his attention from the sky and looked straight towards the distance ahead of him. "...So, …you know about the stars?" Tori laughed. She tried to forget what she left behind in her old life, but it seemed to be the one thing most useful in befriending the Wizard.

"Before I came here," she paused briefly, "I studied physics and astronomy in my undergrad. Left before finishing my graduate degree." Even though he wasn't looking at her, she could tell she piqued his interest.

"Tori...can you take me to where you found it?"

Tori looked at the wizard confused. He finally turned around and faced her.

"The mushroom, in the forest..."

She hesitated, realizing she still didn't even know where to look for those. Most she's seen were near the Witches house, and that was months ago. She didn't think her lie would come back to bite her. She stared at the street clock in the corner of the church grounds.

"It's late..." She hoped it would be enough to deter him.

The wizard noticeably frowned. "This is the peak hour...at which they appear."

Tori realized this could be an opportunity to pursue the friendship that was part of her task. Maybe she can learn more information about him this time. But it was past midnight, and she had lost track of time. She shrugged. It's seemed the risk was worth the reward.

"In that case, I guess I can show you then." She spoke. The wizard was already making his way towards her.

"…Lead the way, then..."

The forest was on the other side of town, in Flute Fields. During the walk over, neither really spoke. Tori was too immersed in her thoughts, and the Wizard was not one to speak. At the entrance though, he was the first to initiate conversation.

"I'm amazed, …really," he fidgeted with the door lock, "the forest is full of...otherworldly creatures at night. Humans shouldn't be lurking at such an hour..."

He had no luck unlocking the door. "Fugue mushrooms grow near unnatural amounts of magic activity...the fact that you found one, and left unscathed..." The lock was still not budging. Tori decided her patience with the door ended here.

"Here, I have an idea." Tori pushed him aside and simply kicked the door inwards. The wood frame shattered easily. "Do you...do this to every door…?" the Wizard dejected, remembering the dent she left on his innocent door. She ignored him and pressed onwards.

The forest was usually pretty unnerving to Tori, but she'd never gone at night. Obviously, she had pulled off the facade that she did. But now, actually being here at night, was terrifying. Strange sounds came from all directions, none of which sounded like a typical animal. She kept her eyes on her feet, looking to see if she would ever stumble onto a mushroom, and hoping to not make eye contact with the many glowing eyes peering from the darkness. The wizard followed closely behind.

Finally, by chance, she ran into a very big bundle of them. She felt as if the Goddess herself was smiling at her, what luck. A few mushrooms even seemed to lead away, suggesting maybe more lie in wait. She turned to give the Wizard a look. She expected him to be beaming; he seemed so obsessed with the one she brought him. She couldn't believe she found them and survived the creepy forest.

"This is...alarming." the wizard spoke, with worry in his voice.

She had already grabbed a few and shot him a confused expression.

"Why? Isn't this what you wanted?"

"They're usually...very deep inside..." he closed his eyes, "this bundle was only five minutes into the forest..." Tori still looked confused.

"And? That makes it more convenient for you, doesn't it?"

"It means...some magical beast… is rapidly coming closer to the entrance..." the Wizard heard rustling noises in the distance and tensed.

Tori noticed the change in his demeanor and looked around, then, she, too, heard the growls in the distance.

"It seems your presence... has been noted."

He quickly took her by the hand and turned to make their way back to the entrance. Tori flinched at the rough gesture but suddenly stood frozen. Blocking the path back, a strange white creature covered with eyes, as tall as a tree, stood over them. The top of it split open, revealing jagged sharp teeth. Its pupil-less, bulging eyes locked on them. It let out various screeches, signaling its attack was coming. The Wizard quickly sped off towards the opposite direction, still tightly gripping Tori's hand. He moved at inhuman speeds, and he seemed to run them right through trees. Tori was in awe as they were passing through; as if they didn't exist. Once the Wizard felt they were at a safe distance, he stopped running.

The winds around them picked up, and Tori looked at the Wizard, at the ready with many questions about what had just happened. However, she became distracted at what she saw. The wind pushed away the hair that covered his left eye, and she finally got a good look at his entire face.

She could see the moonlight reflect off of both his teal right eye and gold left eye. Under his gold eye, she noticed the same sigils the beast had in the relic. Just like Sylvia had told her. She stared for a while, and the Wizard took notice. Before he had a chance to say anything, she spoke her thoughts out loud.

"Your eyes…" she said, not giving much thought to what she was saying, still in awe, "they're like...like Albireo..." The wizard was taken by surprise.

Even in the cover of darkness, bits of the moonlight revealed his red face. He turned away from her and covered his mouth, clearly embarrassed.

"H-How p-poetic..." was all he managed to say.

"I mean! I didn't mean it like that! We'll sort of..., it's the first thing that came to my h-head, when I saw your eyes, they-" she paused for a bit, and took a deep breath.

"Your eyes are really beautiful. You shouldn't hide them..." she trailed off.

Clearly, she created an unintentionally embarrassing moment between them both. The wizard barely noticed he was still gripping tightly to her hand. He let go and stepped back a bit, trying to collect himself.

"I-"

The roaring seemed to get closer once again, cutting the Wizard's sentence off.

"We're going to end up...cornered at this rate..." He outstretched his hand towards Tori.

"Don't let go...Ok?" Tori nodded and grabbed his hand, terrified at the growling sounds of the incoming beast. The wizard began humming, and suddenly his eyes began to glow. They both seemed to float, before suddenly disappearing. The beast nearby emitted a low growl. It accepted defeat and went off once again into the deep forest.

* * *

(A/N: I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! My goal is to have the second one up the week before halloween!

FUN FACT: Albireo is a binary star-one of them looks orange/gold and the other a bit blue-ish teal.

FUN FACT 2!: First Star of Bond is the name of Beta Arietis, a star in the Aries constellation, in Chinese astronomy.)


	2. Chapter 2: Decoherence

CHAPTER 2: Decoherence

* * *

(A/N: Sorry for the late update! I had a lot of stuff to do and its only me editing this! Hopefully I can get Chapter 3 done by the end of November. Disclaimer: no HM AP stuff is mine! Also, please RR! The plot is finally starting!

* * *

The pair re-appeared at the Wizards house. Both of them were desperately gasping for air.

"Wh-what the hell was that?!" Tori said between breaths. She tried to swipe away some leaves that were tangled in her ponytail. She had mud caked all over her boots, and was sticky all over with sweat-she felt disgusting.

"Fleischpflanze... I believe..." He wiped beads of sweat from his forehead, and swiped his bangs back. Leaves and twig bits were mixed in the thick tufts of his hair. Tori furrowed her brows at him.

"They're...normally found deep within another realm, ...far from any human civilizations..." He continued, "To see one so close by...is very ominous…something is not right."

Tori slid, back against his wall, hitting the floor with a loud thump. She wondered if this and the relic were related somehow. The wizard took his dirt covered cloak off and hung it carefully against his chair. He looked longingly at his bed, desperate to throw himself on it and sleep off tonight's misadventure. He knew better though—he'd be lucky if he got a few hours in.

"Maybe..." he started, "You should stay here… for the night…" He wondered if he would regret that.

Tori stood up and looked at him, confused and surprised. The other day it seemed clear she wasn't wanted here. The only reason she was back again is because of their unfortunate encounter.

"Fleischpflanze...once they sense a target, they become… fixated with searching for them..." he cleared his throat a bit. "They have a knack…for sensing humans; …humans are a rare meal..."

Tori made a face and looked out towards the window. She watched as the moths danced under the dim streetlights nearby.

"I don't think it will leave Fugue… for now...but, just in case..." the Wizard trailed off.

"Are you sure? My house is close-by anyways." She really didn't want to stay and force any more conversation, but the thought of the fleisch-whatever stalking her near her house terrified her. Condensation had formed on the glass of the Wizard's window; Tori began drawing non-specific shapes on it with her finger to ease her anxieties. The Wizard stared at Tori, anticipating her response. She simply hummed as she kept tracing.

"You're...an anomaly...a very, very big...anomaly" the Wizard began flipping through notes on his desk.

Tori didn't like the sound of that. It made her sound like some experiment gone wrong. The Wizard let out a despondent sigh.

"Anyways…it's up to you, ...I can ensure your safety for the night here though." He walked into his (still messy) kitchen, and prepared himself a cup of coffee. It seemed so weird to Tori that a mage would be using such a painfully normal coffee machine.

She thought about it carefully but, eventually nodded, taking his offer. Her animals had extra food laid out for them already, and she could just water her crops later in the day. Plus, this would be another good opportunity to find out more about him.

He sat down on the chair at his desk, attempting to continue writing where he last left off, but found himself distracted staring at the crystal ball on his divination table. Tori was still entertaining herself with his window.

"When you left a few days ago..." he said, as he took a sip of coffee, "Someone else came in to get their fortune told..." Tori recalled the events of the other day and rolled her eyes.

"Oh, were you just as cold to them as you were to me when they came in? Or is that just specific to me?!" The Wizard glared at her from across the room.

Tori bit her tongue, she didn't mean to sound so bitter, but she was still bothered by his earlier attitude.

"I've never encountered… such an aggressive woman…" the Wizard remarked as he closed his book. He accepted he wasn't getting any notetaking done tonight. Tori gritted her teeth.

"Hah! You had the chance to earlier, but you ignored me. It's pretty clear that you have some kind of issue with me." The Wizard's eyes narrowed.

Her words were getting to him. Tori couldn't believe what she was saying. In her head, she kept cursing herself for probably ruining any chance at a friendship at this point, and any chance of figuring out his name. It's like she couldn't control what was coming out her mouth. Surely, if he was the beast everyone seems to think he is, he would kill her right there.

"I saw their future, Tori" the Wizard said calmly, ignoring Tori's protests, "I don't know why... why I can't see yours…"

"But… it must be from all the steam you build up inside you, ...you're quite the 'hot-head'..." the Wizard chuckled softly, "blurs my vision..." he seemed to think his joke was very witty, and continued laughing to himself. Really, though, it was his excuse to hide the fact that he didn't understand why he wasn't able to read her future.

A book suddenly struck the Wizard in the face, the force cutting short his laughing fit. "…Hey!" the Wizard growled. He grabbed the book off his face and set it down. Tori stood hovering over him, glaring, fuming at his comments.

Internally, she tried her best to relax; however, externally she looked as if she was ready to kill. The wizard just delivered her glare back at her, annoyed. He officially regretted letting her stay. Maybe she was better off as a Fleischpflanze's rare treat.

"Can I use your shower?" Tori asked. She managed to calm down enough to drop the topic. The sticky, sweaty, dirty feel she felt throughout her body probably added to her building agitation. The Wizard was thrown off by her sudden change in demeanor.

"Oh…Go ahead." The wizard replied, and with that, broke his stare. He pointed her towards his restroom and focused his attention to his coffee again.

"Tori..."

Tori was already entering his bathroom when she turned around.

"Give me your clothes...I'm putting mine to wash as well."

"Eh? Then what do I wear?" Tori crossed her arms and blushed a bit. "There's a few robes in the bathroom..." She was reluctant, but nodded and entered the bathroom. The wizard heard a bit of shuffling and soon the bathroom door opened slightly, and a hand popped out with a pile of clothes. She scooted them a few inches away from the door and closed it.

"...Ok then." the wizard said, shaking his head at her strange mannerisms.

* * *

While she showered, he began undressing and turned on his washing machine. He noticed his face in the nearby mirror, his bangs matted and disheveled from his encounter with the Fleischpflanze. He stared at his own mismatched eyes. "Albireo…" he muttered.

-In the shower, Tori finally found the alone time she was desperately looking for earlier. She tried to process and evaluate everything that happened. Explaining it to herself, so that when the times comes she would be ready to tell the Witch. She decided to refer to the beast as the "White plant thing" (it was easier to pronounce, she thought). Remembering back when she was examining the relic, she didn't see any sign of this "white plant thing". Could they be related nonetheless? She studied the shower amenities he had strewn about; his shampoo and conditioner looked like the ones the general shop sold, and smelled of lemongrass. She allowed herself to get lost in the scent as she lathered her hair.

She thought about the sigil marking on the wizard left eye. It matched the one the relic beast had. However, the Wizard and the beast did not have the same eyes. She had seen people with heterochromia before, but this was different. It was unfortunate that beautiful eyes be given to someone with such an empty stare. She shook off her thoughts before she delved any further. At that rate, she would be in the shower for ages. She finished washing and shut off the water. She dried herself with one of his towels, turning her attention towards the robe rack. Like the rest of his house, it was purple with decorative moons and stars.

"Tacky." As she put it on, she realized it was some sizes too big for her, and from the mirror it looked like she was wearing a really warm dress. She giggled a bit.

She stepped out of the bathroom and saw the Wizard with his head on his desk, lightly breathing. He was sleeping, and had a blanket somewhat wrapped around himself. At closer inspection, she realized he was naked and her face turned red in embarrassment. She felt bad about their earlier argument, and decided to adjust his blanket so that at the very least, he was completely covered. She folded his arms inward toward the blanket, and noticed the strange tattoos on his right arm. She would have to ask about that another time. His desk was full of notes and books in languages she didn't understand. She decided to walk over to the divination table, where even more piles of books were placed. Some of those had English titles. "Alchemy, Biochemistry, Engineering..." Tori mouthed as she read each one off. Aside from alchemy, which could really just be translated into General Chemistry, it seemed like a typical college students' workload. Just looking at the pile of books siphoned whatever life she had left in her; they sent chills up her spine, reminders of her unpleasant time spent in college. She made her way to his bed and looked at his clock. It was about 5:00. She figured she'd nap for an hour and power through the day. Once she sprawled across his soft sheets, despite the events that had transpired throughout the night, she let her guard down. The Fleischpflaze would not take any moment of sleep from her.

* * *

The Wizard was sitting on his desk, penning some notes down about the night attack. On the left side of the desk, he had an open book depicting the Fleischpflaze, while the right had the ever-growing pile of note journals. He had woken up a few hours ago, and started the day with a much-needed shower. He had also made some fresh coffee, in an effort to wash out the taste of dirt from his mouth. Tori opened her eyes slightly at the sound of book pages turning.

"Hello, Tori." The wizard greeted, still glued to his book.

"ahsbsjsksns..." she mumbled, still half asleep as she shifted positions on the bed.

"…Indeed". The wizard turned to look at her sleeping self, somewhat disgusted.

"I wish you would have told me...that you drool in your sleep." He paused waiting for her to reply, only to hear the sounds of her faint breathing. She had fallen back into a deep asleep. The Wizard stared for a bit, taking in her sleeping form. He'd never seen a human sleep before; he wondered if all humans slept as ungracefully as this.

"I wouldn't have let you sleep on my sheets." He took another drink of his coffee.

The smell invaded her nostrils. _Funny_ , she thought in her half-asleep fog, the smell of coffee in the morning often reminded her of...

Tori immediately fell off the bed in shock. The wizard jolted from his desk chair, startled.

"IM LATE FOR OCHEM! AHH! WASN'T THE EXAM TODAY?!"

"What's...ochem?" the wizard asked.

"Organic chemistry! hello?!"

"...Hello to you too?" the wizard replied back, baffled.

Tori began running around attempting to get ready. She threw around the books from the divination table in a frantic state, searching for whatever she thought she needed, and abruptly slipped on one of the books she threw on the ground.

"Stop... damaging my books…" the Wizard said in an annoyed tone. His concentration at this point was shot, so all he could do now was observe Tori's panicked performance. The slip managed to bring her back to reality, though, as she began recognizing her surroundings.

"Oh. I thought I was back in college again..." she trailed off. The Wizard shook his head.

"You're in my house… making a mess…"

Tori scoffed.

"This placed already looked like a disorganized library! You didn't need me to make it messy!" The wizard ignored her and made his way to his dryer machine.

"Here." He tossed her clothes towards her. He took out his own coat from the dryer and clipped it back on.

"It's 17:00, Tori" he said as he gathered his notes and bag. "...You have things to do...right?"

"17:00?! MY CROPS!" she jolted up. "Hm, wait, it's the first day of Summer…."

The robe she had on was already slipping off her from so much frenzied movement. The Wizard motioned her to the bathroom where she ran in to change. Once she was out, she quickly grabbed her bag and put her shoes on. She noticed the Wizard was standing by the door, carrying his things.

"Where are you going?" she asked curiously.

"I have…business in the forest," he paused as she drew closer to the door, "investigations to conduct…after last night..."

"Oh."

"Wait!" she said as the Wizard held open the door. She was rummaging through her bag, until she pulled out three mushrooms.

"I pocketed these before we made our great escape" she smiled "For you."

She placed them in his hand as they made their way out the door. "Would have been a waste if we came up empty handed, right?" He put them away in his own bag, his small smile covered by his section of braided hair.

"The forest…it's on the way to your house…yes?" The Wizard asked. Tori nodded as they stepped out the door. "Then I can walk you over..."

Tori figured it was his way of paying back for the mushrooms she gave him. And for almost getting them killed She kept mulling over everything that's happened the past few days, trying to find some connection within the incidents. She thought back on how they ran away from the "white plant thing" and how under the shine of the moon and the restless breeze, she saw his eyes. The thought made her face turn red. She didn't mean it in some weird romantic way, they just reminded her of the binary star.

Albireo is thought to be one of the most beautiful stars in the sky, from what Tori recalled in her studies. The pair sit at the head of the constellation Cygnus, the swan. It's said that the swan is a God in disguise. _Or a beast pretending to be man_ , Tori thought as she remembered the beast on the tablet. Tori shook her head, returning to the important topic at hand. _This all has to be related somehow. Am I just supposed to sit here while more things happen? What if they attack the town?_ Tori felt like she had some responsibility to fulfill. _There might be more to this prophecy than this Wizard business_ , she thought as she recalled her visit with the Witch.

"And I intend to find out!" Tori thought aloud.

"Intend to find out what…?" the Wizard asked. Tori snapped back to the present, not aware she had spoken out loud. They were approaching her doorstep. She didn't immediately answer his question, because she was unsure how to explain her thoughts.

The Wizard turned around, towards the direction of the forest, "See you around…then." He managed to walk a few steps away before something gripped at his cloak.

"The truth."

The wizard turned back towards her. She noticed his hair hadn't been covering his eye since the encounter. The gold one was just as lifeless as the teal one…

"The truth?" He asked softly.

"About what's going on..." Tori began, "If what you say is true, maybe the world is in danger again." The Wizard remembered how a few months ago, she had asked for his aid in restoring the Goddess Tree.

"I feel like, maybe, it's my responsibility once again..." Tori's face stiffened, and she stared right into the eyes of the Wizard.

"Please, let me help you. I have experience researching, and experience in dealing with magic, and-"

"You're a human…you will surely die." He turned around, ready to make his way into the forest. Tori gripped on his cloak once more, harder this time.

"Stop! Why don't you let me help? You won't be able to do it alone!" She screamed, "I live here too! I've helped once before! I have a responsibility to these people! To the Goddess!"

The wizard turned around again, ripping the grip Tori had on his cloak. He stepped closer and closer to her, until she was cornered on the door of her home. He hovered over her own face, only inches apart, angry. Even though it was sunny as ever outside, the atmosphere felt darkened and clouded with the Wizard's aura.

"And what makes you think…I am doing this for the best interest of you humans?" The wizard retorted. He stared daggers into Tori's eyes.

"Why else would you live amongst us if you hate us!" she growled back.

He gritted his teeth together. He didn't admit to it. But occasionally he did enjoy when the townsfolk came to him asking for guidance through their fortunes. They often told him stories that explained the context of their situations. However, there were far deeper reasons for his stay in the human town.

"I have my reasons…for living...amongst you brats…" He said in a low voice. Tori gave a pleading glance.

"Just, just let me help you Wizard…aren't you tired of being by yourself all the time…" Her words caught him completely off guard—he pulled back from her and desperately searched for anything else to stare at. He only succeeded in appearing deeply agitated. He crossed his arms and dropped his head.

"Very stubborn…" He sighed loudly—giving in, and pulled out a leather journal from his bag, handing it to her. She looked at him, confused. She was ready to go off and didn't expect their fight to dissolve so fast.

"These…are my notes," he explained to her, "Various descriptions…of denizens, similar to last night…are in it…" He opened it for her, and turned to the page containing information on the Fleischpflanze. "Its…best to know what you're dealing with…before you make such drastic declarations."

Tori held the book in her hand, clearly unable to contain her giddiness.

"We…need to prepare you..." the Wizard said. Tori was very blatantly ignoring him, turning page after page in amazement. He gave a small smile and sighed.

"We'll discuss it later, Tori.." The wizard added as he began to walk towards the forest. "See you…then."

"See ya!" she waved. She ran into her house, jumping around from excitement.

* * *

The wizard took out a leather journal and pen, and made note of the footprint on the ground. ".5 meters deep, and 1.8 meters wide..." he said as he jotted it down _. For as tall and menacing as they are, they have dainty footsteps_ , he thought. He took out a small instant camera from his bag and snapped a photo for reference. He approached the area where they encountered the Fleischpflanze, and took note of the damage it created. _The trees themselves are perfectly uprooted; many trees seem to be chopped clean_ , he thought as he examined the sharp cut marks on fallen lumber. No axe or any human tool could have cut so cleanly through these trees. He also noticed the mass of mushrooms they encountered were gone. He groaned. "Better make use…of the ones I do have…"

He kept walking and stopping periodically in the direction the fiend chased them through. The grass around the footprints were black, and any plants nearby seemed to be decaying. He was careful not to step on any blackened areas left behind by the fiend. "Does the…decay spread?" he pondered aloud. He eventually found himself at the edge of the decaying pathway, marking where him and Tori had teleported thanks to his quick thinking. He rubbed the tired out of his eyes as the breeze begin to pick up, and looked towards the setting sun. He recalled what Tori had said to him last night, blushing slightly.

 _Your eyes…like Albireo…_

The Wizard had a tendency to cover his gold eye. Too many townsfolk would ask questions about it and thus, spread rumors. People believed he was a devout of the Void Beast, as its said its followers had golden eyes, causing the Pastor to be wary of him. The pastor had locked the door to the stairway, leading to the church roof, a place the Wizard often visited to stargaze. Once that rumor spread many people stopped coming in for their fortunes. He preferred to be left to his own works, but he realized he missed speaking to other people and needed to fund his endeavors. In the end, he found it better to cover it all together. Eventually, the townsfolk had forgotten about his gold eye, and once again made their rounds to see him to get their fortunes told.

Now, though, he didn't seem to bother with hiding his eyes. After the way Tori compared them to such a bright and beautiful star-no less-he thought it would be such a shame to hide them. He was also able to see clearly with both eyes without hair in the way, making his life a little simpler.

The wizard took in the view of setting sun, recalling the strange events of the past few days. How the small (yet quite sturdy) redhead rancher came in for a reading; she had been the only person in town who hadn't asked until then. Consequently, she was also the only one who's future he couldn't see. The sky began to grow dark as evening approached. Even though the sun was still visible, he could see the light of the stars beginning to shine. One, in particular, caught his attention. Easily visible with the naked eye, he saw the heart of the scorpion, Antares. Its fiery red glow was no match for the lights of the dimmer stars around it.

He smiled and shook his head, finishing up the last of his field research. "Reminds me…of that troublesome girl…."

* * *

"Really?" the Witch said. "That's nuts. I've never seen one of those in my life. I've just heard rumors about them, child's tales." She was referring to "the white plant thing" Tori told her about. Tori was sitting at her kitchen table, drinking some water while talking to the witch on her bracelet communicator.

"Why did you both enter the forest at night to begin with?" the Witch asked.

"I ran into him during a night walk I took," Tori explained, "He asked me to show him where I found the mushroom; he said they stopped growing in their typical areas."

"Well, he's right…I guess," the Witch said, visibly uncomfortable at the thought of saying such words. "I grow those in my personal garden now. Easier for me to make potions and stuff."

"We managed to find some, within the first several minutes of entering the forest, though." Tori continued. Her mind began wandering, and once again her nervous tendencies reared their ugly heads. She began tapping her fingers on the tabletop, slowly, but surely, eroding the varnish.

"…That's not good" the Witch said, scratching her head. "Was it an isolated one?" she asked her, attempting to reimagine the incident in her head.

"No, actually, it was a ring of them, some even seemed to lead somewhere I think, we didn't get a chance to check." Tori said, as she readjusted her seating position. She crossed her arms behind her head and leaned her chair.

The witch took time to digest what Tori was telling her, while Tori continued her anxious fidgeting.

"Fairy rings are a sign of high magic activity," The witch explained, alluding to the mass of fugue shrooms Tori encountered, "Why is a Fleischpflanze so close to the entrance in the first place," she asked aloud, "Actually, why is it even in our plane of existence?"

"They're known to live in the void. And only in the void."

Tori leaned a little too far at the witch's sentence, sending her crashing into the ground. The witch rolled her eyes and laughed as Tori began to compose herself. Her glass of water had fallen all over her. "The void? What?"

"It's another dimension" She said thoughtfully, "I don't really know anything else about it. I'll look into it with Sylvia." She made a serious face.

"Be careful Tori, we still don't know where the Wizards place is in all of this."

"I'm not afraid of that nerd." Tori said smirking as she stood up—the Witch giggled a bit and her golden eyes caught Tori's attention.

"Wait—I saw it"

"Saw what?"

"The mark like the beast had, under his golden eye" she gestured to her left eye, "Both of you have golden eyes!"

"Ohh, it's a notable trait among mages, Tori." the Witch replied, "However, bi-colored eyes are pretty rare, if not nonexistent, among magical beings."

Tori stayed silent, realizing then that his weird eye was his green one. To her, and most humans, though, the gold one sticks out like a sore thumb.

"I gotta get back to work, Tori! Sylvia says Hi! Call me if you get any more information then!" The Witch blew a kiss into the screen, Tori returned the gesture. She was about to ask exactly what "work" the Witch does all day before the communication ended.

Tori quickly brought the book out from under her pillow. She hid it as a way to help her ignore the urge to look at it before her farm chores were done. She decided not to tell the Witch her and the Wizard would be investigating the weird phenomenon in the area. She finished cleaning up the water she dropped and flipped back to the page with the Fleisch-whatever. There was a crude doodle of the fiend on one of the pages.

"Pfff…he made it look like some cute muffin or something" she said as she rolled her eyes laughing. Some other scribbles surrounded the doodle; details, about the color, height, speed, etc.

" _They are known to go over 90 km per hour_ " she read aloud.

"Yikes..."

She remembered when the Wizard took her hand to escape the beast, and wondered, _Then, how fast were_ _ **we**_ _going?_ She didn't know which piece of information was weirder. On the next page, general information stating the abilities and whereabouts of the "white plant thing" were written. "Dirac…Sea?" she said to herself, puzzled. "The witch said it was from the void though..." She sat there, perplexed. The words 'Dirac Sea' left a familiar taste in her mouth.

She shrugged it off, and turned continued reading. It was only after the sudden knock on her door that she realized she was almost done reading the entire journal, and had learned about far more terrifying nightmares than the one she encountered last night. She put the book down and hid it among some papers she had lying around. "Yeah, come in!"

"Hey Tori! How's it going?"

"Oh, Hey Luke." Tori said as she walked towards the doorway, "Just planning for tomorrow I guess, the usual." Luke gave a concerned glare.

"Everything alright? Haven't seen ya much, I came to return your barn keys." Luke replied as he jingled the keys in her face. Tori smirked and grabbed them from his hands before he could begin to hold them high over her head where she couldn't reach.

"Yeah, Summer just started, so usually I'm planning out how to set the fields the first few days." She stared past him and onto her fields. Her wilted spring crops seemed to flutter under the moonlight and summer breeze.

"What do you think?" She asked him. Luke turned around towards her fields, scratching his head. "I mean, what should I grow this Summer? Gil didn't give me any export requirements, so I can choose whatever."

"D'nno. Watermelons are always good." Luke crossed his arms.

"I ain't no rancher, carpentry's my thing" Luke gestured towards the roof "What I _can_ help ya with- is that hole in ya roof."

Both him and Tori stared towards her ever-collapsing roof. She was far too lazy to put some work into it, and far too cheap to pay someone to do so. Realistically, that hole was going to stay there as long as Tori did.

"Haha, maybe…" she lied through her teeth. Her ticks began acting up again, as she started picking at the border etching on the doorway.

"By the way, how were my animals the other day?" She didn't face him, she was far too interested and what lie at the base of the etching.

Luke was already well aware of her limited attention tendencies; the entire town was. Luke just accepted that it was simply part of her personality, and not a matter of poor manners.

"Ah yeah, they were great, your horse is a lil' stubborn though," he continued, "I think maybe I got some rancher blood in me, eh?" He smirked.

She remembered how Arcturus was very insistent on not letting anyone ride her around. She wondered how in the world Luke managed to get her over here by himself.

Luke saw her mumble to herself and continue to pick at her doorway. He took that as a good cue to head home. "It's getting' late, Tori, sleep well aight?" he waved, "See ya tomorrow Tori!" Tori managed to return to the present in time to wave back. She stared at her field, at the few wilting crops she hadn't removed. She waved them off, figuring its best to work on that tomorrow, and returned to the comfort of her house.

Tori suddenly opened the door again and groaned as she marched her way over to her dead strawberry bushes. She sighed.

"I know I'm not going to want to do this tomorrow." She clipped her tool belt onto her shorts and began the arduous task of picking the roots and pulling. Eventually, she'd uprooted all the pesky wilts. She caught her breath as she fell to her back, tired and sweaty. She stared at the night sky, watching as the stars blinked at her. At the apex of her vision, she saw the mismatched star pair glowing intensely.

A head suddenly hovered over her view of Albireo.

"…Stargazing?" The Wizard asked in a monotone voice.

"Huh? Oh, I guess so," Tori replied. She rubbed her eyes as sat up. "I just finished cleaning my field for the Summer crops." She picked at the dirt under her nails.

The Wizard looked at her inquisitively. "Did…you read my notes? …All of them?"

"Yes." A stubborn piece of dirt was stuck under her pinky nail and testing her patience. "Love your artistic interpretations of these things, really I do, they definitely captured the terror..." Tori trailed off, laughing to herself.

"Tch, …they are my notes," he retorted, "For my understanding..." He saw that she was still far too interested in the dirt packed under her nails.

The Wizard squatted to meet Tori's eyes, and grabbed a hold of her hands, ending her cleaning session.

"Your ticks…drive me insane," he groaned in annoyance. "Stop that."

Tori pouted, but was finally, reluctantly, giving her full attention.

"Describe to me…what you read and understood." The wizard kept a firm grip on her hands, making sure she didn't begin trailing away from the conversation.

"Mmm, let see, there was the Flesh-whatever, the-" The wizard's focus fell at her hands. He could feel her attempt to use her hands to count off the types of creatures she read about. He rubbed them slightly against his own, and frowned. Her hands were so rough and calloused, probably from the year or so of working in the farmlands. They reminded him of sandpaper.

"...and the Pau ka' ai. That's about it, right?" Tori pondered.

She noticed his exceptionally prominent frown directed towards her hands, and tore them from his grip.

"Were you even listening? Why are you looking at my hands like that?!" She began to look at them, attempting to find out the source of the Wizards disdain.

"…Y-Yes I was listening…" the Wizard said, attempting some damage control. "I'm impressed…that you managed to read it all…in a matter of hours…" He had only managed to catch the end of her description, but he figured it was proof enough that she'd read. Tori was still obsessively inspecting her hands.

"What's wrong with my hands?" She sounded bothered, and completely forgot about the topic at hand. The wizard shook his head, and stood up, away from Tori's eye level.

"Nothing." He stared at her bare field, and regained his composure.

"…You have a lot of work to do tomorrow…" Tori rose from the ground and picked a bit at her hair.

"That's how it goes, yeah." The wizard turned towards the town.

"Meet me…at twenty-one hundred hours, at the church grounds tomorrow." Facing the opposite way, he waved a hand. "We'll…talk further then. Goodnight, Tori..."

Even though he wasn't facing her, she waved back. "Night…"

* * *

"Babe, you go through tea like it's the air you breathe." Sylvia commented, as she watched her lover rummage through an old collection of children's books from a worn cardboard box labelled "DONE". The Witch paused often to take big sips of tea.

The witch waved her off. "Hey, have you seen that one book I had?" Sylvia would have berated her for such a vague description if the Witch hadn't spoken up immediately.

"It's all black, has a creepy face in the front." She clarified. "The binding is worn to its bone."

Sylvia attempted to recall such a book. "Nope, don't think so babe." She approached the Witch, watching her pull out book after book, inspecting it, then cursing it and tossing it aside.

"Do you need help? Finding 'that one book'?" Sylvia laughed a bit as she asked.

"Yes love," the Witch said, somewhat annoyed that the succubus didn't offer her services before, "It has information about what I told you, about what Tori had told me."

"About that white demon? The Fleischpflanze?"

"Yes. I know I saw it in one of these children's stories..." She continued tossing books haphazardly. Cicadas outside had started the first of their long symphony of off-key courting songs.

"Ugh, those screaming banshees are back again," The Witch spat between her cycle of throwing around books and cursing, "I hate summer."

Sylvia hovered over to their bookcase near the kitchen. She scanned through each with her index finger until she came to a stop at a black book. The cover, as the Witch had explained earlier, had a pale face etched into it. The book itself was, at this point, being held together by strings attached to the binding. Sylvia wondered what kind of parent would give their child this book.

"Babe, is this it over here?" she waved the book carefully.

"Yes! Bah, I made a mess for no reason!" The witch sighed. "S'pose I'll add that to our list of chores then." She walked towards Sylvia and grabbed the book. After a few times of flipping through pages, she found the one she was looking for.

"Here. See? It sounds like what they saw." The Witch pointed to a vague figure on one of the pages. To Sylvia, it seemed like a white blob, until she took notice of the many eyes contained within its form. The page next to it describe a "disappearance of the new world colonists".

"This thing has surfaced in history before?" Sylvia asked. "Also, what kind of children's book is this? This would certainly scar any child's mind."

"Apparently, it's the reason some old colony from the mainlands disappeared. And, I don't know, I don't understand a lot of human things, really." The Witch replied.

Sylvia laughed. "You're supposed to though! That's part of your job!"

A few months after meeting the succubus, the Witch had realized that, maybe, she had some growing up to do. She didn't want to disappoint Sylvia, and knew that it would be a good idea to pursue a way to support the both of them. The Witch always enjoyed reading poetry, and in fact, that was one of the reasons Sylvia fell in love with her. She noticed that there were few, if any, human poetry that was translated into non-human languages and vice versa. The Witch decided to learn both styles of languages, and translate poetry and other works for all beings to enjoy. However, as Sylvia pointed out, a huge part of translating such works requires understanding of the culture and era it comes from.

The Witch scratched her head, "Yeah, but, well…there's just some things that go over my head often…" Sylvia smiled at her.

"Oh babe, it's okay to admit when you don't understand anything! We can figure it out together." She said as she batted her eyes dramatically. The Witch bonked Sylvia in the head playfully. They both laughed, then Sylvia's attention focused towards the window. The cicadas were still being obnoxious.

"Say, should we be worried?" She asked as she watched the bugs interact with each other on the tree branches.

"About?" The Witch asked, hugging her lover and turning towards whatever seemed so interesting to Sylvia.

"The Fleischpflanze. Didn't Tori say she saw it in the forest?"

The Witch realized she had a point. "Mmmm...yeah, lets create some barriers, let me see what I can conjure up with what's in the pantry."

"Maybe its best we stay inside too, then." Sylvia remarked.

They both stared dreadfully at the obnoxious insects. They hugged each other, and laughed as they saw a frog attempt to make a meal of one of the bigger cicadas.

* * *

The Wizard took out his pocket watch and shook his head in disappointment. "Tch…over an hour late…"

He'd been watching the stars from the church grounds while waiting for Tori, so that they may plan out their next course of action. However, the Wizard realized at this point that she may not be as reliable as he had hoped. After some time, he heard the sounds of footsteps clumsily approaching and sighed.

"You're...almost two hours late…"

"S-sorry…"

He could hear the strain in her voice; curious, he turned around. She was gripping tightly at her discolored forearm.

"Had a bit of an accident," she paused, "Some of my lumber fell out of stack and onto my arm. R-Really hurts..." She finally approached the Wizard who was standing near the railing surrounding the church and looked down, kicking some pebbles around.

"I didn't mean to be late, I'm still pretty serious about helping..." she scratched the back of her head, and immediately regretted letting go of her hurt arm. She gripped back for it and gritted her teeth.

"Ugh, guess I'm just clumsy." The Wizard looked to her and frowned a bit. He felt a little bad for assuming she had just forgotten about their meeting.

"Let me see it…" The Wizard replied. Tori turned to face the Wizard and showed him her arm. He gripped on it a bit, and Tori let out a yelp.

"Hey! What gives! I just said it hurts!" She tried pulling back but he gripped harder, causing her great pain.

"Relax a bit…stop that…"

She groaned and let her arm drop into his hands again. He traced the outlines of her bruise with his finger, and whispered something Tori couldn't understand. Suddenly, her arm glowed a bright light, and the bruise seemed to vanish.

Tori stared in awe. She moved her arm around a bit, and began jumping in excitement. "It doesn't hurt anymore! How did you do that!"

The wizard gave a faint smile. "I know some…healing magic… enough to heal minor scrapes…and such…"

"Wow! You really are something Wizard!" she exclaimed. She rested her arms on the railing, bending and leaning forward. She looked up at the sky, eyeing the constellations. The Wizard scratched his head and stayed quiet, unable to react to her compliment.

"The swan's out tonight-both of them, actually. Get it?" she snickered.

The Wizard stared at her confused. She gestured her eyes back and forth from the constellation to him, alluding to the moment when she compared his to Albireo. He turned away to keep her from seeing him fluster.

"I am not a swan…" he looked up at Cygnus. Albireo was positioned at the head of the constellation; just like himself, the swan had different colored eyes.

"You said… you had experience in research…in what, particularly…" the Wizard asked.

"Huh? Oh, I was doing my Ph.D. dissertation in quantum biology." She tapped her fingers on the railing. "Trying to find the process behind how atomic transitions cause DNA mutations or something."

"So…you are like…the humans in the books I read…" The Wizard took out a book and passed it to Tori. The book seemed to contain research papers by various, prominent theoretical physicists. He pointed at the end of the book, where their bios were attached. All of them had "Dr." as their Prefix. She had a quick laugh and passed it back.

"I was. Not anymore. Didn't make it, burned out like a dying star." The sadness in her voice carried in the air, and Tori began scratching at the railing, creating unpleasant sounds. The Wizard sensed that this was probably a sensitive topic.

"Nonetheless, …those skills will prove useful to us…"

"Well I'm glad you think so." She said abruptly.

"That's…enough air for us tonight…come, we have many things to discuss…" He gestured for Tori to follow. They both returned back into his house.

* * *

The Wizard watched intently as Tori paced his house with a newfound curiosity. He saw her glance through the neat rows of bookshelves, running her eyes over each title, regardless or not if she understood what they said. For the first time, the Wizard took notice of his guest's appearance. She was taller than most girls he'd seen, and more noticeably built. Her arms were slightly muscular—he wondered if she was always like that or if the tedious work helped shape her form. Her crimson hair bounced from its ponytail, tickling the arch of her back—it reminded him of the autumn leaves descending from their branches. He was still slightly darker than her, but her complexion had more of a glow. Her boots were old and worn; they reminded him of older books he had with frayed bindings. Her loose tanktop was tucked into her shorts, both dirty from her daily farmwork. She turned to him and caught his stare; she smiled. Freckles were scattered all across the bridge of her face—somewhat like the constellations in the night sky. Her eyes were a warm brown, like the hearth of a home, they seemed so inviting, yet at the same time they reminded him of the earth after a soft rain. She rasied her eyebrows questioningly, as if waiting for some sort of response. He groaned and looked away.

"You really got to work here huh? I can actually walk around!" Tori said as she traced her fingers on the binding of a specific book. She laughed to herself. "So, did you actually put the effort in it, or did you…y'know" she snapped her fingers, probably in reference to the time he did so to keep her feet from tapping incessantly.

He chuckled a bit and rolled his eyes, "Yes Tori, ...I did it on my own…"

"I don't…use magic…that often…"

The Wizard served himself a cup of coffee and walked over to the divination table, now clear of the mess from a few days ago. He lay a few knick-knacks on it that he would explain to Tori in a few minutes-if she could just sit down and stay still. She had made her way upstairs, free to do so now that the stacks of books were no longer blocking her path. The Wizard looked up towards her and saw an eagerness in her eyes. Well, he thought, at least she seemed in better spirits than she was outside.

"It's…a telescope…"

"Well, yeah, I can see that," she said as she continued examining its parts, "It's just been a while since I've seen one of these."

He heard her audibly gasp. "OH! Is-is this an astrograph?!" She ran towards another section of the upstairs area, making incoherent noises, and he could hear her thumping her foot in excitement. He smiled a little at the prospect of discussing the stars and the night sky with someone other than himself for once. He shook his head, though.

"Tori…" he called out softly. Her head suddenly poked out from the upstairs railing.

"We can discuss astronomy things…another time…" His face fell at the end of his sentence. He didn't think he would ever say such a thing. "Right now, …we have important work to do…"

"Yeah? Promise?"

"Promise..."

Tori sighed and she made her downstairs, pulling out one of the chairs at the table. The Wizard followed suit. As he was taking out notes and important documents from his bag, he caught Tori looking at his coffee mug.

"Hey, can I have some of that? Goddess knows I need some right about now."

He carefully organized the stack of notes he took out across the table and nodded. Just as he was about to get up, she waved him off.

"No, no, I can grab it myself. Where are your mugs?"

"Oh…top leftmost cabinet…"

He watched as she opened his cabinet; she seemed to have trouble in deciding what mug to drink from—he hoarded quite a bit of them.

She turned back towards him, expectantly. "Go on, I'm listening," she turned back again towards the overwhelming selection of mugs, "What's on your mind?"

"Ah, yes…well…first and foremost…I need to explain the nature of…these creatures…" He looked down at his notes, carefully trying to formulate a proper explanation.

She finally decided on a mug, on the upper shelf of the cabinet. The Wizard wondered why she was so insistent on picking a specific one; they all served the same purpose equally. He figured it was some inherent human trait.

"Your notes said that the Flesh…um, Flies-…Fleis-"

"The Fleischpflanze."

"Yeah them, it said that they come from the 'Dirac Sea'" Tori climbed onto his counter and finally reached the mug she had been eyeing. It was a nice teal color. "Well, actually, all the beasts in your notes come from there." She served herself what was left inside his coffee pot.

"Yes…the Dirac Sea…to keep it simple…is an abyss, a void…" He stared at his reflection in the coffee. "Another dimension…"

"See, I know the Dirac sea as an equation," She leaned her back against his counter, swirling around the coffee in her mug and taking small sips. "If I remember correctly, it was an old attempt at explaining negative energy states or something…"

"I suppose that's...the origin of its namesake, yes."

"I've never heard of this void dimension before."

"There is…very little known about it…a small group of Euclidians…studied the phenomenon." She cocked her head a bit, and approached the table, as if getting closer would increase her attention and understanding. He noticed her take in all the various objects on the table once she took a seat.

"What's a Euclidian?"

"Beings from the Euclid…" Tori gave him an annoyed stare.

"Right. What's 'the Euclid' then?" She must have grabbed the chair with the uneven legs, because she began playing with it, leaning back in forth.

The Wizard tried to ignore her ticks, at least until he was able to get this discussion through to her.

"…Magical dimension. You…know of the Witch, yes?" Tori abruptly stopped her fiddeling, slightly alarmed.

"Uh, yeah.."

"She is from there…so am I…All beings who can manipulate magic…have origins in the Euclid…"

"How did you both find yourselves here? Did you know each other before?" Tori was no longer distracted, but instead deeply immersed in the change of topic.

He bit his lip and realized she began leaning closer to his side of the table eagerly.

"That is…personal…" She sat back down and grunted disappointingly.

"I don't…ask that you divulge your burdens…respect that I don't wish to…discuss mine…"

She sighed and picked at her hair. "Yeah, you're right I guess." She still mentally put away this topic for another time; the Witch never mentioned a history between them prior to living on the island. Awkward silence filled the air for a bit, until the clock on the Wizard's wall chimed, signifying it was midnight.

"It's definitely a good thing we had ourselves a bit of coffee or we'd be dying, huh?" Tori said as a smirk formed on her face. The Wizard eased up a bit at her comment and gave a small smile back at her.

"I'm always up at night…it's the only time I can observe the stars…" He stared at his telescope but immediately returned to observe Tori, who was once again immersed in something other than the conversation; this time, her ever bouncing curls.

"Back to the topic at hand, as I was saying earlier…" He cleared his throat in preparation for what could only be a lengthy explanation. Tori kept twiddling with her hair, but listened nonetheless.

* * *

Midnight signaled the customer influx to reach its peak; often people came in this late and stayed until closing, buying several drinks before trotting back home in satisfaction—and perhaps gaining a prize to take home that night. Kathy paced across the bar floor, taking and giving orders to both familiar faces and the tourists that flocked to the island who wished to end their night on a cheerful note.

"Chase, I need two orders of Squid Tomato Stew, stat." Kathy demanded, making haste back to waiting tables. Chase growled under his breath, annoyed at her ever-so-bossy attitude. As Brass Bar's only cook, he never quite got the break he felt he deserved. He dragged himself to the pantry, to grab the ingredients for the newest orders.

After a while, it seemed the commotion died down for a bit (at least for food orders), and Kat found herself behind the counter of the Bar while her dad took inventory in the backroom. She continuously wiped in a circle onto the countertop, stuck in a trance. She eyed the countless bottles of liquor on the wall behind her, trying to resist the urge to join the rest of her customers. She heard the gossip about her, even more so after she broke-up with Tori. Everyone knew her as the town drunk. She spent most of her days inebriated, acting loud and obnoxious, to the chagrin of her father. The bottles behind her seemed to echo the gossip of the townsfolk, and she felt herself being mocked. She tried to block it out but the stress was too much for her.

She ran out of the bar, as if the bottles themselves were chasing her. However, she abruptly stopped when her body made contact with someone else.

"Shit! Sorry!"

"Oh—It's you—"

"Do watch where you're headed, Mademoiselle" the blonde man berated. Kat realize she had bumped into Gil, the mayor's son. She was never really fond of Gil; although he only recently moved into town, he already had an "I'm better than all of you" attitude. That stupid French accent of his didn't help—she hated it.

"Ugh, I wish you'd cut the French act, it's getting old already" She commented as she closed the door behind her. Gil looked confused, both at her comment and at the fact that she was blocking the doorway. All he fancied right now was some wine.

"Mademoiselle, I am French," he dusted himself off, as to get rid of any unsightly germs Kat may have left when she bumped into him, "I don't know how many times I have to repeat myself to you. I've lived there all of my life. Until recently." He sighed, pushed up his sleeves and undid his tie.

"Now then, pardon me, I've had quite the day and I would like to wind down." He pushed her aside and grabbed for the door handle. He could already smell the wine—

"Hey, join me." She wondered if her desperation in her voice carried.

Gil turned to her, surprised.

"For what, exactly?"

"A walk, I need a break."

He thought about her offer for a bit. He could do without the stress that talking to the town's alcoholic brings, but she seemed sincere for once. Besides, he too, needed a break. Whether it be a few glasses of wine, or a walk enjoying the first summer breeze—or both.

"I suppose a walk is fine, then." He gestured for her to lead, and together they headed out in the direction of the lighthouse. The night air was humid, and alive with little critters fluttering about. Kat was clearly distraught about something, but Gil felt it was not in his place to ask—quite frankly, he didn't care. He had his own issues to concern himself with. As they approached the docks, Gil took a pack of cigarettes out of his front pocket, and a lighter.

"Hey let me bum one of those."

"Fine."

She grabbed one out of the pack before Gil had the chance to tap the pack. He rolled his eyes and proceeded anyways. He grabbed one out of the pack and began lighting it. Kat eyed his lighter.

He took a drag, sighed, and offered her the lighter.

"Jeez, don't get your panties in a knot."

He rolled his eyes and stared at the city view above them. Descending the staircase to the church were two figures. He couldn't quite make them out in the dark, but as they passed a streetlight, their movements activate its light.

"Ah, seems that mademoiselle Tori is also enjoying a midnight walk with monsieur, er, uh… I never did quite catch that fellow's name…"

"Nobody has. He's either the 'Wizard' or the fortune teller. I just call him the town hermit."

"What kind of hermit leaves his house? Don't be so brash."

"Who the hell cares. Why's she with that weirdo anyways? She's really gone off the deep end."

"Jealous?"

"As if. I'm glad to be free of that parasite. Look at her, following him like a lost puppy."

"Quite the choice of words for being a deeply damaged alcoholic."

"Shut up."

Gil noticed the Wizard's eye and furrowed his brows.

"Seems they've entered his house. I've heard it's a quaint little place. I myself have never been." He attempted to make some small talk to dissipate the tension.

Kat glared at the Wizard's home. Tori had paused a bit before entering, almost as if she knew they were watching her. After a few seconds, she made her way in. Kat grinded her teeth so intensely the cigarette split in two; the lit end falling to the ground.

"What a waste…" Gil discarded his cigarette butt as well, putting both of them out with the heel of his dress shoes.

"So. Have you been?"

"Been where?" Kat had her face puffed and her arms crossed. She was a different kind of angry now. Gil was certain she was jealous.

"To the Monsieur's house. He reads fortunes, correct?"

"A few times, I guess. He's so accurate it's honestly scary."

"Did he always have a golden eye?"

"I don't know. He usually kept one covered. Why?"

"Don't you know what they say about the people with gold eyes? Their devouts of the netherbeast."

"I didn't expect such a sophisticated and busy man to waste his time with silly fairy tales" Kat giggled.

"I wouldn't be surprised if he's a cultist though, I mean what else do you do locked away in your home?"

"Alright, alright, let's head back. I would like at least one glass of wine before the bar closes for the night."

Kat smiled, feeling a little better than she felt earlier on.

"Sure, and it's on me 'Monsieur'"

"Hah, you would not pass very well as a French woman." Kat elbowed him in the shoulder as they slowly walked back to the bar. Gil turned back to the direction of the Wizards house, wondering if he really was a follower of the netherbeast. Was Tori in danger? Was the town in danger?


End file.
